St. Patrick of Ireland by Philip Freeman: A Book Review

Introduction

St. Patrick of Ireland: A Biography by Philip Freeman (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2005) takes the reader deeper into the life and times of St. Patrick of Ireland than any previous publication has managed to do. Freeman's thesis is that many unknowns have long surrounded St. Patrick, and the author was determined to resolve those mysteries as thoroughly as possible. The work was driven by Freeman's passion to truly understand — and share — his knowledge of St. Patrick with readers around the world. Bringing Patrick's fascinating life into a well-constructed narrative was a valuable historical service. The purpose of this review is to present a realistic portrait of the saint after whom a special day is designated: while millions of people celebrate St. Patrick's Day, very few are likely to know anything at all about the man himself.

Brief Summary of the Book

After five hundred years of ruling the known world, the Roman Empire fell in A.D. 410, yet England remained a Roman colony and Ireland remained a wild society that relied on slaves — many of them captured in Britain and transported across the Irish Sea. A fifteen-year-old upper-class Roman citizen living in Britain, who had committed a serious sin that was never revealed, was kidnapped by the Irish and taken back to Ireland, where he was sold into slavery. This is where the book begins.

After six years in slavery tending sheep, he came to believe that God was calling him to return to England. He escaped and made his way home, but in time — drawn ever more deeply to Christianity and hearing what he understood as a divine call — Patrick returned to Ireland, the very land where he had been enslaved, and began to serve as a missionary to a people who were largely pagan. He built his reputation on that foundation and went on to become renowned and respected, ultimately being declared a saint.

Strengths of Freeman's Biography

For the son of wealthy, educated parents to be kidnapped and forced into slavery in Ireland, then to experience freedom back in England, and ultimately to return to his former place of captivity to spread the Christian Gospel — this is a remarkable story. Freeman tells it without over-writing or exaggerated narrative, and that restraint is a major strength of the book. The author covers as much information as he can without resorting to excessive speculation or fictional embellishment.

One of the biography's great strengths is the research Freeman conducted into the historical context surrounding the fall of Rome and the kind of education that young Patrick — who did not carry that name in his youth — probably received. Freeman is largely professional in his approach, acknowledging openly, for example, that "Patrick's formal education probably followed the standard model." That word, probably, signals an honest admission that Freeman lacked definitive biographical records and was drawing reasonable inferences about the young man's upbringing. He also inserts passages from Patrick's own letters wherever they can fill gaps that no historian could otherwise bridge.

Another positive aspect of the book is the way Freeman uses the real evidence available — Patrick's letters — to anchor the narrative. He draws on portions of the letters throughout the text, but wisely saves the complete letters for an epilogue, which is one of the book's most valuable features. Those letters provide a wealth of information and insight. Readers learn much about Patrick's inner life during his years as a slave: he watched over sheep, and the experience transformed his spirituality. He had not been actively devoted to Christianity before his enslavement, but during that period he wrote, "…each day I would say a hundred prayers and almost as many each night…I would get up each morning before sunrise to pray, through snow and frost and rain." Freeman also goes to considerable lengths to explain how the letters were discovered and preserved — a precarious history involving, in his words, "Viking raids, gnawing rodents, fires, floods, and general carelessness."

Conclusion

Despite these weaknesses, St. Patrick of Ireland is an excellent book. Freeman's careful use of primary sources, his honest acknowledgment of what cannot be known, and his decision to publish Patrick's letters in full make this biography an important contribution to the literature surrounding early Christian saints. The occasional lapses into speculation and overwrought description are real flaws, but they do not undermine the overall achievement. This book opens the eyes of everyone who has celebrated St. Patrick's Day without knowing a single thing about the remarkable man behind the holiday.